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HMS Beagle
The second ship of the Vanguard class, she was built as a *quick* replacement for the HMS Howe, which sank in 1942. She was also built to help bridge the widening ship gap as the Lions continued to be delayed by issues with its 16in guns. Built on a modified Vanguard-class, which made her heavier, yet faster, then the Vanguard. The main modifications was the increase in AA, and a slightly revised armor scheme. Her main armament came from 15in turrets from the admiral-class battlecruisers HMS Indomitable, and HMS Invincible. While built as a replacement for the Howe, she never served as a fleet battleship, instead serving mainly as a carrier escort. WW2 Service During 1946, she escorted the HMS Victorious in the Atlantic Theater. On November 8th, 1946 the Victorious division was escorting a vital shipment of weapons grade armor, for a new aircraft carrier class, when the shipment came under attack by the Bülow & Haas. Aircraft from the Victorious spotted the Bülow, and Haas. But a hit from a German submarine quickly forced the Victorious to retreat. Facing 2 top of the line Cruisers, she engaged both the Bülow and Haus. During the engagement, the Beagles superior fire control system proved vital, as she was able to quickly knock out the Haus from the fight. The Bülow continued to fight however, and knocked out the Beagles fire control system, but by then the Beagle had already sighted in on the Bülow. 8 rounds from the Beagle penetrated the Bülow, when the last one struck right the barrette below the Ceasär turret, causing a monumental explosion as the magazine exploded. HMS Beagle proceeded to try to chase down the wounded Haus, but without her fire control, she was unable to sight in on her. Without this key element, Beagle had to give up the chase. By this time, the Victorious was unable to contain the flooding, and started to sink. Making a Bee Line for the doomed vessel, the Beagle managed to save 1000 men from the Victorious. The Beagle returned to Britain, and was refit with some new sensors. Returning to the Atlantic in early 1947, she was tasked in the Mediterranean to help track down the Italian Battleship Impero. While in Battleship Squadron 4 with the HMS Warspite, she was the only battleship with a top speed of 30kn. So in response, the Admiralty ordered the HMS Resistance and HMS Vanguard from the Atlantic Campaign to form Squadron 5. Successfully locating the Impero, Centurio made a break for Italy. Due to the similar top speed, the British battleships couldn't get within firing range. By mid-1947 she was again attached to Squadron 5. With the Atlantic campaign winding down, she was attached to the Mediterranean fleet, where Squadron 5 helped escort the Italian battleships to Alexandria. Accompaning the fleet was HMS Hood, HMS Warspite, and HMS Malta. However, German bombers carrying guided bombs managed to strike the Beagle, causing her to list heavily. The same bombers would manage to heavily damage the HMS Hood, and HMS Warspite. And sink the Italian battleships Roma and Aureus. Barely making it to Alexandria, the pumps failed, and Beagle was beached. For the next month, she was slowly repaired before making way for Britain to get long term repairs. Returning to sea in early 1948, with Tirpitz finally sunk, she engaged in the hunt for Hutton and Scharnhorst. Accompanied by the HMS Indomitable and HMS Vanguard, she set sail for a region of the North sea the two battleships had been spotted by Norweigan fishermen. On April 14th, 1948, her scout plane managed to spot the Hutton and Scharnhorst making way for Norway. While Scharnhorst had been previously damaged by a Torpedo, Hutton was in perfect fighting condition. Hutton turned to engage the British battleships when at 7:00PM the battle commenced. Without sight, the ships engaged each other. The Vanguard was targeted by the Hutton, while the Beagle managed to flank the Scharnhorst. During this time the Moltke, had turned in to help support the Tirpitz. By the time Scharnhorst had realized the Beagle was flanking and turned her turrets to face her. In the first straight up battleship vs battleship since the Bismarck vs Hood, the Beagle came under heavy fire. With constant fire between the two, on the Beagles 12th Salvo, the Scharnhorst exploded in a giant fireball. With the lack of support, the damaged Hutton limped back to Kiel. However, Beagle was heavily damaged, taking some 18 hits. The ship was heavily Flooding, while the Vanguard tried to tow her, by the morning of April 15th, it was obvious she was doomed. The skeleton crew evacuated, she was scuttled. Following an extensive search for her, she was discovered right side up, turrets in place, 100km off the coast of Norway, a measly 5km from the Scharnhorst. Category:Royal Navy